Pine/Strawberry

Free puppet show in Pine Saturday

by Myndi BrogdonPinocchio and his puppet friends are coming to the Pine Community Center at 10:30 a.m. Saturday courtesy of the Isabelle Hunt Memorial Library.

Doors will open for this free show at 10 a.m. Children of all ages are welcome.

A day of storytelling

A unique event has found a beginning right here in Pine.

Tellabration 1999: A Day of Storytelling is just that -- a day for professional storytellers, recording artists and published authors to share their stories of Arizona.

Dennis Freeman, Don Doyle and several other entertainers will join local storyteller Al Ayers and junior high students Rebecca Ross and Tyler Williams of Pine-Strawberry School.

The fun begins Saturday, Nov. 20 in the cultural hall at the Pine Community Center on Highway 87.

The first performance, which will be for children from kindergarten through third grade, will be from 10 a.m. to 10:40 a.m. Tickets for this performance are $2 a person and children must be accompanied by an adult.

The second performance, which will be for children from fourth grade to eighth grade, will be held from 11 a.m. to noon. Tickets for this performance also are $2 a person.

The third performance, which will be for high school students, adults and seniors, will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets for this performance are $3 for students $5 for adults and $4 for seniors over 55 years of age.

Seating is limited to 200 people per performance in the cultural hall. Tickets are now available at the Pine Museum on Highway 87, or at the Isabelle Hunt Memorial Library on Randall Place in Pine.

P-S pantry

The Pine-Strawberry Pantry food bank is gearing up for the holidays. But before the holiday season begins, food bank officials have a few thank yous to pass along. Many organizations and individuals have made donations to the food bank. Thank you to the Pine-Strawberry Arts and Crafts Guild, the Pine-Strawberry School Builder's Club and high school student and Boy Scout Bill Cotton.

Demands on the food bank grow this time of year and the P-S Pantry relies solely on donations and food drives.

Non-perishable food donations can be dropped off at the box at the Pine Post Office or they can be made by calling Joy Knapheide at 476-3042. Monetary contributions may be sent to Sharon Balentine at HCR 01 Box 205, Strawberry, AZ 85544.

Thanks to volunteers

The Pine Museum and the Pine office of the Rim Country Regional Chamber of Commerce's winter hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The Strawberry Schoolhouse is only open by appointment through May. During the summer, 7,073 people visited Arizona's oldest standing schoolhouse in Strawberry and 5,503 people toured the Pine Museum.

Thanks to Melvin and Judy VanVorst and the many volunteers it takes to keep these connections to our history open and alive with activity.

Accompanist needed

The cultural hall at the community center in Pine has received an organ in working condition and a piano. Now the Hall needs an accompanist who is willing to play. Ideas about community Christmas caroling have been tossed about, but without someone to play one or both of those instruments it may just be an idea.

If you play or know someone who does, give Melvin VanVorst a call at 476-4791.